Anthrax was formed by guitarist Scott Ian in 1981, and music hasn’t been the same since. Considered to be one of the “Big Four” of the 80’s thrash metal scene, the band was definitely a force to be reckoned with, being one of the first East Coast thrash bands. Typically drawing inspiration from pop culture, the band quickly became a metal mainstay with their ability to occasionally share their more serious side. 

“We put a lot of work into ‘Persistence of Time.’  We pushed ourselves harder, self-analyzed, criticized, and agonized more than any of the previous records, and we were really proud of it.”   – Scott Ian, from the PoT Liner Notes

In August, 1990, Anthrax released their 5th studio album. Persistence of Time was a darker, more serious look into the band’s musical genius. People who had written off Anthrax in their early days, began to take notice. The light-hearted band who drew inspiration from comic books and other pop culture, all of a sudden produced an album with a more mature sound and lyrics that were deeper, and more contemplative than anything they had done before. After loosing over $100,000 in gear, and their rehearsal studio to a January 1990 fire, it’s no surprise that the band was in a more somber mood. All that hard work was rewarded. Persistence of Time reached number 24 on the Billboard charts, and was nominated for the Best Metal Album Grammy that year. To use the old phrase, Anthrax was at the top of their game.

Knowing how important this album was in the Anthrax discography, the 30th Anniversary edition of Persistence of Time should come as no surprise. This new rendition offers us a beautiful remastered version of the entire album. The enhanced quality can especially be heard at the beginning of “Intro to Reality”. The spoken text is from a Twilight Zone episode, and it’s clear as day. It’s hard to believe how old that excerpt is, listening to it here.. The track listing follows the original, for the first 11 songs. So when you start that disc, you get the same ticking of the clock to count you down to the start of the first song, “Time”. Crisp, clear sound. Just the “tick tock, tick tock” as the music comes in, and thoughts of never enough time start to go though your thoughts, as the lyrics lament about ‘Time and life / Life and time”. The Joe Jackson cover “Got the Time’, and “In My World” were the original singles released on the album. “Got the Time” shows the mastery of taking a song from a completely opposite genre and making it your own. “In My World”, with it’s lyrics full of anger and contempt for the world, fit right in with the general attitude of most teenagers at the time. I was almost 19 in 1990 and lyrics like “ It’s a selfish need /To have no responsibility / So I’ll say what I’m gonna say/ Cause I’m going to hell anyway / I’d rather be alone / in my world / I’m not afraid” would have spoken to me.

This special edition allows for fans to celebrate on of the founding fathers of the thrash metal scene. Anthrax cemented their role in music history with this album. They proved that the loud, silly, band from Queens, had a serious and introspective side. Versatility like that can only be mastered by a true artist. Scott Ian, the one remaining founding member of Anthrax, leads his band masterfully as they continue to break new ground, while still holding on to the foundations that made the band who they are today.

I’m Music Magazine Photographer/Writer Michele Hancock